Blocking for someone else.

[knasser2]

Hi. I'm currently building class templates for my Hero-based D&D replacement (lets call it Warlords and Wyverns for now! ). I want one of the martial classes (analoguous to the paladin) to be a good protector of other characters and give it the ability to block attacks on other characters near him/her. Looking up the Block maneouvre that seems to be a good starting point and it allows one to block attacks on another. There's a -2 OCV penalty for it, though. Two newbie questions:

 

1) What would be the CP cost for an ability that lets you remove the -2 OCV penalty?

2) What would be the CP cost for an ability that lets you get a bonus?

3) What would be the CP cost for an ability that let you remove the cumulative penalty for x number of additional blocks. So for example, the character could now block twice with no penalty? Or would that be a bad idea?

 

Ooops. Three questions! Sorry! :) Any help would be much appreciated - especially for the first two which are what I'm probably really after.

 

Peace and coolness.

 

K.

[Lucius]

1) What would be the CP cost for an ability that lets you remove the -2 OCV penalty?

Look at "Penalty Skill Levels"

 

2) What would be the CP cost for an ability that lets you get a bonus?

Loot at Combat Skill Levels

 

3) What would be the CP cost for an ability that let you remove the cumulative penalty for x number of additional blocks. So for example, the character could now block twice with no penalty? Or would that be a bad idea?

 

 

K.

Look at "Penalty Skill Levels"

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Look at this palindromedary

[NuSoardGraphite]

Yeah. Penalty Skill Levels should work here. +2 will remove the penalty to block for others. Then just use regular +1 OCV levels to enhance your "Cover" Talent. Keep in mind this is also compatible with Martial and Defensive block maneuvers.

[knasser2]

Look at "Penalty Skill Levels"

 

 

Loot at Combat Skill Levels

 

 

Look at "Penalty Skill Levels"

 

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Look at this palindromedary

 

Thank you. Slowly, I am starting to get the hang of this, I guess!

 

So my answers would be as follows:

1) 1CP ("to offset a specific negative OCV modifier with any single attack")

2) 2CP (for a +1 to a "single attack" which is the Block).

3) 1CP per additional target you want to not be charged a penalty for (I'm counting each one as a separate penalty).

 

 

I'd note though that 6E1, pg. 84 under Penalty Skill Levels says that a character "cannot buy OpSLs to counteract the standard OCV penalty imposed by a Combat Maneouvre". And Block is listed as a Combat Maneouvre. So should I just ignore that or am I missing some reason it doesn't apply? Also, for the second question (the bonus) what if I want more than +1 bonus to it? Is that okay? Can you stack CSL's like that?

[MrKinister]

That is actually correct. You can, however, buy regular bonuses to attack ("combat skill levels"), and restrict them to be used for blocking only. The drawback to that is that you have to pick a broad enough level of attacks with it, like "All Melee Attacks", which will make it rather expensive. Unless you don't mind being able to block for others with a very limited set of weapons or attacks.

[Netzilla]

RAW, the way to build what you want is to use 2-point Combat Skill Levels.  Just buy them straight up for a better OCV with the Block maneuver in general.  For a bonus when blocking for an adjacent target, add a Limitation: Only to counter penalties to blocking for an adjacent target (at least -1 but may be worth more). 

 

In prior editions, you could only put a Limitation on CSLs that were 5-points or higher in cost.  With 6e, this has been changed to an optional rule but I suspect it's still pretty common.

[Cantriped]

In CC/FHC, you can apply modifiers to any CSL except 2-point CSLs... For you could have:

 

+2 to Block & Martial Block Maneuvers (as 3-point CSLs) (6 APs); Only To Overcome CV Penalties (-1/2). Cost:  4 points.

[Lucius]

Crossposted from http://www.herogames.com/forums/topic/89320-rpgnet-thread-create-a-character-for-something-walk-us-through-it/?hl=belanta&do=findComment&comment=2372701

 

 

And a did a couple of dubious things, but here are some ideas.

 

“I hope you don't mind but my cousin is in town and I invited her to the game.”

 

“That's okay, I'll give her a character and she can join in.” (Now, how am I going to fit a new character in? They're in the middle of the adventure.....)

 

 

Some people have stable groups where the exact same people gather for every game. For the rest of us, we have those who drop in and out, or sometimes can only join for a game or two. I think it may pay to be prepared for this.

 

One could have a couple of very capable non player characters on hand at all times, but I think the player characters should be the “stars” of the game – having NPCs around who are just as powerful dilutes that.

 

So I am going to create the Upgradable Non Player Character, a character who can be a useful henchman but not outshine the players, but can sometimes step up and perform as their equal, hopefully WITHOUT it being too utterly jarring to be credible.

 

This means that I am in a sense going to make TWO characters, of lesser and greater power. Fortunately, Hero System has a mechanic for this (Hero System has a tool for almost every possible problem) – in fact, it has at least two.

 

I can use the Multiform Power, which is the traditional way to do, for example, werewolves or The Incredible Hulk. Or I can use the “Only in Alternate ID” Limitation, which modifies abilities so that they are only available under certain conditions – Iron Man for example might be built this way, because many of his abilities are only available when in armor. I think I'll try both, but I'll start with “OIAID” and save Multiform for a later experiment.

 

I'll be using the Hero Designer software for this, and may occasionally reference the way it organizes things, but the process would essentially be the same without it – just slower.

 

A standard beginning heroic character in Sixth Edition Hero System is built on 125 points, plus up to 50 points added by taking Complications. A “Competent Normal” such as a capable mercenary hireling is suggested as being built on 70 point plus up to 30 from Complications. I want the minion version built on the 70 starting points and the upgrade built to be equal to a starting player character at 125 starting points. Hero doesn't require you to start with any given aspect of the character first; I can start with Characteristics or with Skills or with Complications or whatever. Let's start with Complications.

 

I want a Psychological Complication of Loyal, partly because if whoever ends up playing this character takes a notion to desert the party, steal something, or otherwise act in a way “prejudicial to good order and discipline” I can curb that behavior by pointing out they are going against character. This gains the character 15 pts. I also like the Unluck Complication; taking 2 dice of it is another 10 pts. Finally, Accidental Change – between “powered up” and “powered down” “forms” - is 20 pts. This last is possibly questionable in that, while it effects the character, it will never really effect the PLAYER. I decide to go for just 25 pts now, dropping the Accidental Change, and will revisit Complications later if I think I need more points.

 

That gives Me 95 pts for the character as a “henchman” and 150 as a Player Character.

 

Now for Characteristics. I have in mind a strong sturdy amazon type, clever and skillful but perhaps a little slow of reflexes. I'll call her Belanta.

 

 

STR 15 Able to lift twice as much as the average man

DEX 8 Slow, but I have a plan....

CON 13 Hopefully tough enough

INT 13 Bright and perceptive

EGO 8 Not strong willed – could be vulnerable to certain magic

PRE 15 Moderately brave

OCV 5 “To hit” good enough for a professional soldier

DCV 4 Knows something about avoiding being hit

OMCV 2 Very low “Mental to hit” roll – will probably never matter though.

DMCV 3 Mind altering magic finds her no easier or harder a target than the average

SPD 3 Speed of 3 means 3 action phases each turn – same as the player characters

PD 5 Reduces physical damage done to the character

ED 5 Reduces energy damage (fire, lightning, etc) done to the character

REC 5 RECovery measures how fast the character recovers from damage or exhaustion

END 20 ENDurance points are spent to take actions

BOD 10 This is “hits to kill”

STUN 20 This is “hits to knock out”

 

So far I have expended 39 of my allotted points. Now for a brief look at Powers, specifically Movement Powers. Every character gets certain Powers for free, including things like normal senses and the Movement abilities of Running, Swimming, and Leaping. I'll make Belanta a weak swimmer, “selling back” 2 meters of that movement for -1 pt, and cut Running from 12 to 9, for -3 pts. This saves me 4 pts.

 

Now for Martial Arts. In Hero, “Martial Arts” doesn't just mean oriental unarmed fighting skills; basically these are points spent to gain access to special maneuvers. Hero's normal list of possible combat moves, even without Martial Arts, is gratifyingly extensive; any character at any time may attempt to disarm another character, trip someone up, parry an attack, grab an enemy or their weapon, etc. But Martial Arts give benefits often well worth the points. The first maneuver I buy is a Parry move, bought as “Martial Block” for 4 pts. This allows Belanta to avoid an attack by rolling her own OCV vs the opponent's OCV and gives a bonus to both OCV and DCV (that's Offensive and Defensive Combat Value) and once the action has been declared, she can keep blocking any number of attacks (with ever increasing penalties) until missing a roll. Furthermore, after blocking someone, she will usually be able to attack first next phase – regardless of DEX (see, I said I had a plan to deal with that low DEX.) For my next maneuver, you guessed it, Counterstrike! That's another 4 pts for a move with OCV and DCV bonuses that can only be used right after a successful Block. Finally I spend 5 pts for a Takeaway maneuver that lets her grab an opponent's weapon, just in case she breaks or drops her own. I define this set of maneuvers as working with swords and knives by default, and spend 2 pts to also use them with bare hands (the Takeaway in particular....) and with shields. This is 15 pts spent on Martial Arts. Total of 50 pts spent so far.

 

Now for some Skills. I start a list: Combat Skills. It takes 2 pts to be Familiar with all “Common Melee Weapons” and another 2 for “Common Missile Weapons” and now she takes no penalty for using swords, bows, spears, and most sorts of weapons she'll want to use. A +1 Skill Level with Martial Arts makes her a touch more effective with all those maneuvers and costs 3 pts, and for 2 pts I can get a Skill Level with Block specifically. I can also buy “Penalty Skill Levels” that only work to counter specific kinds of penalties; Remember I said that Belanta can keep using Block against multiple attacks once it's declared, but at a penalty? By spending 4 pts I can eliminate the penalty for the second and third parry and reduce the penalty for the fourth, fifth, etc. That's another 13 pts, I have spent 63.

 

Now for the part of the Character called Talents. I like using lists to organize abilities, so I create a list for Combat Talents and add Combat Luck for 6 pts. This gives the equivalent of wearing armor even if not wearing armor, as the character dodges and twists and rolls with blow, reducing the damage taken from each hit. Obviously it doesn't work as well when bound or unconscious. I want this character to have armor too, so I also buy 2 pts of Environmental Movement, a Talent for moving freely in difficult circumstances; one must define the circumstance when buying the Talent. In this case, it counters up to -1 DCV for wearing armor. Heavy armor normally slows a character down and makes them harder to hit, but is very useful for reducing the damage of those hits. I name this Talent Accustomed to Armor (note that Belanta can wear heavier armor with a bigger DCV penalty and gain full benefit of the Armor's ability to block damage, but it will slow her down and make her easier to hit.) That's 8 pts, I have spent 71.

 

Back to Skills, new list: Adventurer Skills. I select Stealth, Concealment, Streetwise, and Conversation for 3 pts each to get a roll based on the associated Characteristic (in most cases this means a 12 or less on 3d6,) Trading, Teamwork, Tactics, Climbing, Tracking, and First Aid (called Paramedics by default, but I change the name) for 2 pts each (mere “proficiency” and a 10 or less roll) and Animal Handling and Survival for 1 pt each (“familiarity” and an 8 or less roll. Every character gets a free Familiarity with Riding horses, but I give Belanta Animal Handling to help care for the party's mounts.) I have now spent 97 pts and have overshot my goal for the “lower power” version of the character. I go back and cut all Skills to the 10 or less versions, drop Accustomed to Armor, and cut STR and PRE to 13 and REC to 4. All this cuts me back to 86 pts. I can spend 9 more

 

I usually run Turakian Age, and that setting is notable for having a plethora of languages. I don't want to nail down specifics, but I want the character to be able to communicate with the player characters and besides, a mercenary adventurer should be well traveled. I take Linguist and add a few unspecified languages for 7 pts. I have spent 93 pts.

 

Now I am ready to build the “Upgrade.” I have 57 pts to spend. I start a list under Powers called “Having a Good day.” All these abilities will have a “Limitation” of “Only in Alternate Identity”

 

In Hero, almost anything – even including Skills and Characteristics – may be bought with Advantages, which make it more effective and more expensive, or Limitations, making it more curtailed in some way and less expensive, or both.

 

The first “Power” I buy is called “Raise Proficiencies to Full Skills.” I have 10 Skills at 10 or less rolls- adding a single point to each would increase them to full Characteristic based rolls. I create a Custom Power worth 10 pts, and after the Limitation it costs 8. That is arguably kind of a “munchkin” thing to do because if I bought each one separately with the Limitation it would cost the full 10 pts (Limitations can't reduce a cost below 1) but I'm only saving 2 pts and it's my game so I can do it this way if I choose. If I try to bring the character into someone else's game and this is vetoed, I will shrug and shave off 2 pts somewhere else.

 

I buy an Overall Skill Level. A Skill Level is a +1 that applies to only one thing at a time; the more things it can apply to, the more it costs. An “Overall” level is good for anything; any Skill roll, any attack, your DCV to avoid attacks, etc. I also get a Skill Level with All Combat, and 5d6 of Luck. That's a huge amount of Luck, but luck is something that comes and goes mysteriously – the day someone extra shows up and needs a character is obviously Belanta's lucky day. The players know it's a question of whether anyone is playing the “walk on part” but all the characters know is, “On a good day the Gods really smile on Belanta, and on a bad day she's still a capable warrior and a team player.”

 

I am now at 139 points and can spend 11 more. Let's try building something really special. On a Good Day I want Belanta to not only be good at blocking, but to be better able to protect others and to set them up for their own attacks.

 

The aspect of Hero System that most seems to intimidate new players is the Powers section, but this is also the aspect that allows the most creativity and freedom to create exactly the kind of abilities you want for your character. With the Power rules, it is possible to create an ability that is legal and defined by the same corebook rules every other Hero player has, but is absolutely 100% unique to your character. Hopefully, I can show that what everyone says is so complex is really not that hard in practice – especially if you're using Hero Designer.

 

First, the rules impose a penalty for blocking for someone else. I spend 2 pts on Penalty Skill Levels to eliminate that and now Belanta can block an attack on an adjacent ally as easily as an attack on herself.

 

Now I want to be able to Block allies within a few steps. Hero has a way to extend a character's reach; it is called Stretching. That sounds like a comic-book Power you'd give Mr. Fantastic or Elastic Man, or in a fantasy context maybe something for a giant octopus that lurks in a pool and can snatch up characters who come within a certain distance, but the names of Powers don't have to be taken literally and I can take “Stretching” without any part of the character's body actually growing longer, as long as I can explain what the character IS doing and how it looks in the game world. Maybe Belanta stays mobile, lunging out to block an attack on an ally then leaping back into position; or calls a timely warning “Behind you!”or “Shield up!” that lets the ally avoid the attack without spending their own action; or perhaps she spoils an attack by distracting the attacker with a shout or thrown object. In fact, by taking the Advantage “Variable Special Effects” I can use any or all of these explanations, whatever fits the circumstance at the time. Since it won't be obvious that she can protect companions up to a certain radius, I also take the Advantage “Invisible Power Effects” to the level where it is “Invisible to two Sense Groups.” Normally a Power has to have at least three ways to detect it in operation, usually including seeing and hearing it. I now have to define at least one way an onlooker can tell that the character's reach is greater than it might seem; normally this would be some more exotic sense. I decide that anyone with Tactics, Analyze: Fighting Style, or Danger Sense, will know from the character's stance what she is capable of, and those with only Familiarity or Proficiency with those Skills can still tell if they make a Perception roll. I also add two Limitations to this ability: One is “Only to extend reach of the character's Block” and the other is “Requires a Skill Rolll (Teamwork.)” If the Belanta fails a roll on the Teamwork Skill with a -1 penalty, she can't do the block without getting in someone's way and doing more harm than good. The roll has to be made for every Block attempted with the extra Reach.

 

I looks like this on the character sheet:

Extended Reach with Block: (Total: 5 Active Cost, 1 Real Cost) Stretching 2m, Variable Special Effects (Limited Group of SFX; +1/4), Invisible Power Effects (Invisible to [two Sense Groups], effects of Power are Invisible to other characters; +1 1/2) (5 Active Points); Requires A Roll (Teamwork Skill roll, -1 per 5 Active Points modifier; Must be made each Phase/use; -1 1/2), Limited Power Only to extend the Reach of the character's Block (-1), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) (Real Cost: 1) END Cost: 1

By expending 1 extra ENDurance point and making a Teamwork roll at -1 for every Block attempt that benefits from it, Belanta can add 2 meters to whatever Reach she has from weapon or circumstance, for the purpose of making Block maneuvers. “That's three times I saved your butt in this battle.”

 

It only costs 1 Character Point- but now Belanta has a totally unique ability that is not exactly like anything anyone else has. (Until someone likes the idea and copies it.) These are sometimes called “signature abilities.”

 

I still have 8 more points to spend. No law says I have to spend them all – whoever plays the character may think of something I didn't after all – but I want one more ability, one that lets Belanta not just Block an enemy but set that enemy up to be attacked by allies.

 

"Strike NOW, comrade!": (Total: 10 Active Cost, 4 Real Cost) +2 OCV, Usable Simultaneously (up to 4 people at once; +0), Grantor can only grant the power to others, Recipient must remain close to Grantor, Grantor can take back power at any time (10 Active Points); Conditional Power Only vs targets that have been Blocked by the character (-1), Only In Alternate Identity (-1/4) (Real Cost: 4)

 

Belanta can give a +2 OCV (“to hit”) to up to 4 people. This uses the Advantage “Usable Simultaneously” but since Belanta can't use the extra OCV herself and those who can have to stay close, it works out to a +0 Advantage and costs the same as if Belanta simply bought +2 OCV for herself. This bonus can only be used to attack someone Belanta has just blocked. And now Belanta has two unique and special abilities, both team-oriented. Looking back over it, I notice that I can move the Penalty Skill Levels for Blocking for Another to Combat Skills from the Good Day list to the Combat Skills list without going over my self-set limit; it makes the "minion" version of the character exactly 95 pts. So let's do that.

 

The process would be even simpler if I had chosen to buy only Characteristics, Skills, and Talents, and restricted my Powers to the ones everyone has by default, like Running. But by setting aside a few points (very few; only 5 out of the total budget of 150) I wanted to show how the flexibility and power of the Hero system can be used to generate an endless number of fun and interesting abilities.

 

Lucius Alexander

 

Palindromedary Enterprises